Brooke’s Beef Tongue with Parsley Sauce Print Recipe Back to Website

Recipes adapted by Brooke Jambor from The River Cottage Meat Book by Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall

The beef tongue sits in the brine for 5 days so plan ahead! The brine ingredients are for one tongue but scales up and down easily. (It’s already been scaled down from original recipe.)

Ingredients to Serve (May be eaten either hot or cold; I prefer it cold!):
Hoagie buns, Parsley sauce, Horseradish (I used jarred, but the freshly grated root would be even better!)

Spread a thin layer of horseradish on both sides of bread. Arrange slices of tongue on bread, and drizzle with parsley sauce. Voila!

Bouquet garni – Wrap an outer ring of leek around a sprig of thyme, 2 bay leaves, and a couple of parsley stems. Tie together with kitchen twine.

Ingredients
Brine:
  • 1L water
  • 100g light brown sugar
  • 300g kosher salt
  • 1t black peppercorn
  • 1t juniper berries
  • 5 cloves
  • 4 bay leaf
  • 1 sprig of thyme
Braise:
  • 1 pickled tongue
  • 1 bouquet garni
  • 1 carrot, chopped
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 leek, chopped
  • 1/2 a bulb of garlic (cut thru equator, leave skin on)
Parsley Sauce:
  • 1 bunch parsley, picked and chopped fine (but not too fine!) with a sharp knife
  • Splash of cider vinegar
  • Pinch of sugar
  • Small dollop of coarse mustard (i used the Maille variety which is more like a pickled mustard seed)
  • Olive oil, just enough to cover everything
  • Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Place all ingredients into a saucepan and bring to a boil until salt and sugar are dissolved. Allow mixture to bubble for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool completely.
  1. In a non-reactive container (such as plastic Tupperware or Pyrex), pour brine over tongue and make sure it's completely submerged (Cover with paper towel folded over itself a few times, a tea towel or a small plate).
  2. Brine for 4 days, on the 5th day drain the brine and cover with cold water for 24 hours, changing water once. 
Combine ingredients in a pot and cover with fresh water.
  1. Cook low and slow for about five hours, or in an oven set at 250 degrees (I did this in a Dutch oven on the stove, covered, on medium-low).
  2. Cook until meat is completely tender and easily poked with a skewer, there should be no resistance.
  3. Peel the course outer skin of the tongue before serving (this is best done while it's still hot). 
For parsley sauce, throw everything into a jam jar and shake to combine. Consistency should be just loose enough to spoon over meat, like a broken vinaigrette.